Warren Buffett misses $850M in Bitcoin gains by sticking to cash in 2025

4 days ago

Key takeaways:

Berkshire could person made $850M from Bitcoin with conscionable a 5% allocation.
Bitcoin has outperformed Berkshire banal and its apical holdings successful 2025.

Berkshire Hathaway has posted a header nett of $12.3 cardinal successful the 2nd 4th of 2025, according to its latest filings. A person look reveals a rougher story, however, particularly erstwhile it comes to missed hedging opportunities from ignoring Bitcoin (BTC).

Bitcoin could’ve softened Berkshire’s $4.60 cardinal equity loss

The Warren Buffett-led conglomerate took a monolithic $5 cardinal impairment deed connected its Kraft Heinz involvement during the quarter, contributing to $4.60 cardinal successful equity method concern losses for the year’s archetypal half.

Net net are down sharply from the aforesaid play past year, and the firm’s banal has lagged down some Bitcoin and the S&P 500 successful 2025, particularly aft Buffett announced that helium would measurement down from the CEO position.

As of Aug. 5, Berkshire shares are up conscionable 3.55% year-to-date. By contrast, the S&P 500 has gained 7.51%, portion Bitcoin is up 16.85%.

Berkshire held $100.49 cardinal successful currency and currency equivalents astatine the extremity of June, astir of it parked successful short-term Treasury bills and low-yield instruments.

If conscionable 5% of that superior had been allocated to Bitcoin astatine the opening of 2025, it would person delivered implicit $850 cardinal successful unrealized gains by August, based connected BTC’s 16.85% year-to-date return.

That hypothetical Bitcoin summation wouldn’t person erased the Kraft Heinz shortfall but would person meaningfully offset the loss.

It besides would’ve fixed Berkshire much flexibility since the steadfast hasn’t conducted banal buybacks successful the archetypal fractional of the year.

BTC beats Berkshire’s apical holdings successful 2025

The missed BTC gains enactment into position conscionable however overmuch Berkshire’s blimpish attack has outgo successful comparative performance.

For instance, the cryptocurrency has outperformed Berkshire’s apical 3 banal holdings—Apple (AAPL), American Express (AXP), and Coca-Cola (KO)—so acold successful 2025, arsenic shown below.

The irony is that Buffett has agelong dismissed Bitcoin arsenic “rat poison squared.” He’s repeatedly said that Bitcoin produces nary yield, has nary intrinsic value, and does not beryllium successful immoderate concern portfolio.

And yet, Bitcoin has outperformed Berkshire’s apical holdings successful a twelvemonth defined by rising ETF inflows, institutional adoption, and a macro backdrop that has progressively favored hard assets.

Buffett’s successor, Berkshire’s caller CEO Greg Abel, has truthful acold offered nary nationalist statements supporting Bitcoin oregon immoderate crypto.

This nonfiction does not incorporate concern proposal oregon recommendations. Every concern and trading determination involves risk, and readers should behaviour their ain probe erstwhile making a decision.

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